How to Choose an Edition of Office 2010

How to Choose an Edition of Office 2010
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With Office 2010 released in mid 2010, you may be wondering whether the software giant continued the tradition of offering many editions of its productivity software making it difficult to choose which one is right for you. This time around, Microsoft offers four retail editions of Office 2010, down from eight versions with Office 2007. However, a few more complications have been added to mix making it once again difficult to decide which edition is the best one for you. Read on to learn about the four retail editions of Office 2010.

Office 2010 Retail Editions

At the top of the list is the professional edition of Office 2010. This edition ships with more applications than any other. It includes:

  • Word 2010
  • Excel 2010
  • Outlook 2010
  • PowerPoint 2010
  • OneNote 2010
  • Access 2010
  • Publisher 2010

Of particular note is the fact that the Professional edition is the only one available to the general public that contains Access and Publisher. If you need these applications and you don’t qualify for the Academic edition, the professional edition is your only choice.

Next on the list is the Home and Business edition of Office 2010. Aimed at busy home and home business owners, this edition is really a combination of several others. Home and Business includes:

  • Word 2010
  • Excel 2010
  • Outlook 2010
  • PowerPoint 2010
  • OneNote 2010

The most popular edition of Office has always been Home and Student; this popularity will likely continue with Office 2010. Aimed at basic home and busy student consumers, the Home and Student edition of Office 2010 includes:

  • Word 2010
  • Excel 2010
  • PowerPoint 2010
  • OneNote 2010

If you are a qualifying student or educator, one of the best deals is the Academic edition of Office 2010. Shipping with the same applications as the Professional edition, the Academic edition is an amazing deal. Students who need Microsoft Access 2010 and the power of Outlook and OneNote to make learning easier will especially appreciate what the Academic edition offers. As with the Professional edition, this edition includes:

  • Word 2010
  • Excel 2010
  • Outlook 2010
  • PowerPoint 2010
  • OneNote 2010
  • Access 2010
  • Publisher 2010

Other Editions of Office 2010

Microsoft Office 2010

For completeness, Microsoft will make available two other editions but these are only available through volume licensing. Unless you own a medium to large business and need lots of licenses for employees, it is unlikely you will be buying either of these editions.

  • The Standard edition of Office 2010 ships with:
  • Word 2010
  • Excel 2010
  • Outlook 2010 with Business Contact Manager
  • PowerPoint 2010
  • OneNote 2010
  • Publisher 2010
  • Office Web Apps
  • Visio 2010 (available but not part of the Standard suite)
  • Project 2010 (available but not part of the Standard suite)

The Professional Plus edition ships with:

  • Word 2010
  • Excel 2010
  • Outlook 2010 with Business Contact Manager
  • PowerPoint 2010
  • OneNote 2010
  • Access 2010
  • SharePoint Workspace 2010
  • InfoPath 2010
  • Publisher 2010
  • Office Web Apps
  • Communicator
  • Several Integrated Capabilities

Conclusion

The most surprising change with the release of Office 2010 is the move of the Standard edition to a volume license rather than retail version. Many users opt for the Home and Student edition as it remains one of the best Office 2010 values. For those who need more, the Home and Business and the Professional editions are always there if you need them. Still, Microsoft seems to have made a commitment to simplicity with only four rather than eight retail editions. Continue to the next article in this series to learn about the pricing of the Office 2010 editions.

This post is part of the series: Office 2010 Editions and Pricing

Unlike previous versions of Microsoft’s suite of productivity software, Office 2010 will only ship in four retail editions. Pricing of these editions has also changed from previous versions. Learn all about the different editions and pricing of Office 2010.

  1. Selecting an Edition of Office 2010
  2. Explore the Pricing of the Different Office 2010 Editions